With only a 40 minute bus ride across the border from San Sebastián, Biarritz is an absolute must see. For me it is one of my favorite spots with plenty of beaches, food spots and quirky shops to enjoy I could have stayed the whole week!
Our Air BnB was on Rue Paul Bert street which was a street back from Cote Des Basques beach.
The many beaches of Biarritz
There are 5 beaches that are all in a 20 minute walking distance from the main square. We were lucky to stay right near the big surf beach Cote Des Basques and loved it. This beach is tidal so you can only swim at certain tides and it comes fully into the rocks at high tide, however when the tide is out this was by far our favorite beach as there is a lot more room and the water is really clear and clean. If you stay on the coastal walk and head towards the lighthouse you will get to Port Vieux beach which is the cove beach right by town, we also had a little picnic a couple of days later with Lani, Harry and Emma which was the perfect spot. This beach has much smaller waves and has almost rocks for sand, the water isn’t that clean and clear compared to the others. On our first day the tide was right in so we walked to La Grand Plage, this is where the 1920’s casino overlooks and is rather busy at high tide but the water and waves are great. One more bay over is Mirimar which we went to with Aaron and Holly. WOW!! The waves were so massive and strong I was quite scared, but with the help of James and timing my entry and exit I managed to avoid being dumped or knocked over (which a lot of others didn’t!). The fifth beach is the other way and joins up with Cote Des Basques when the tide it fully out. This is called Marbella beach and the waves were also very brutal there!
The town square and Lighthouse walk
Biarritz is more compact than San Sebastián. In saying that there are plenty of shops, markets, restaurants and supermarkets to choose from. We really enjoyed staying a little to closer to town and made the most of being able to come and go. One morning we walked to the lighthouse along the coast, this is the perfect way to see four of the lovely beaches. From our place it took about 45 minutes to get there and means you are ready for a coffee and breakfast on the way back!
Food
On arrival we were rather hungry and gave into a little burger joint called cob Burger, it was actually really yummy and has huge portions (James had to finish mine). We also did a lot of home cooking and picnics for lunch and dinner to make the most of the incredible produce at the Markets in town.
We had a really hearty meal at Balloteka for Bastille day before meeting up with Lani, Emma and Harry for the drink at Bar Jean. There was so much food and we were in need of a little cheering up after the cricket and Wimbledon final……. this certainly did the trick!
We also enjoyed brekkie twice at the markets, can highly recommend the galettes there! Bali Bowls offer the incredible Allpress coffee and all of the delicious smoothie bowl options. However we waited soooooo long at the stall in town so would recommend having patience and going to the one near Port Vieux beach. On Wednesday there were night markets which was the perfect entree before having dinner with Aaron and Holly at Casa Bixenete. The tapas were really great and we enjoyed a sunset vino on the beach for our final night.
100 Days of Travel 